Patrol

Emergency Response Unit is supervised by Sgt. Mike Lamb and is composed of 12 members, including one team commander, two team leaders and nine additional operators. Asheville E.R.T. is tasked with serving high risk warrants, responding to barricaded suspects, hostage situations, and any other high safety risk event.

Crisis Negotiation Team is supervised by Sgt. Rondell Lance, who is responsible for coordinating the 12-member team that assists in ending and negotiating the surrender of hostage situations.

Patrol Special Services is headed by Lt. Stony Gonce, who is responsible for coordinating special events with other city departments to ensure public safety. Special services include:

The Crowd Control Team is a unit of officers specifically equipped and trained in techniques necessary to keep the peace in tense political or emotional environments. This unit is not a full time unit and is activated on an as needed basis.

The K-9 unit is composed of four K9 teams. The dogs are all Belgian Malinois, and commands given to the dogs are given in Dutch. Both dog and handler must successfully attend and pass a six week (450 hour) Patrol Dog Handler Course. The K9 Unit supports the patrol division in the areas of narcotics detection, article/evidence searches, tracking, building searches and officer protection. The K9 Unit conducts numerous training demonstrations annually for local civic groups, schools and special events.

The Traffic Unit's primary purpose is to make the streets safer for the motoring public. It provides special functions, accident investigations, traffic enforcement, and safety programs. Each sworn officer is trained in the latest, state-of-the-art techniques of accident investigation. Other responsibilities include: directed traffic enforcement, follow-up investigations, special events and parades, and coordination of selective traffic enforcement programs such as Booze It and Lose it and Click It or Ticket it.

The Park Liaison is involved specialized security work in patrolling city park lands. The liaison solves day-to-day problems and performs duties in accordance with established policies and regulations set forth by the City of Asheville Parks and Recreation Division and the Asheville Police Department. The duties involve patrolling parks to monitor activities of park patrons and to deter crime and to refer any suspicious activities to the proper agencies. Asheville's park liaison is Officer Keith Whittington who is available by e-mail at kwhittington@ashevillenc.gov.